Lisa Ploehn to receive Medal of Honor

It isn’t every day that our local businesses receive prestigious awards. So when they do, we like to recognize and help celebrate their accomplishments.

On March 7, it was announced in an article published by Drake University that Lisa Ploehn, owner of Main at Locust Pharmacy and Medical Supplies, would be adding a new award to the pharmacy’s repertoire. Ploehn will be awarded the highest honor given by the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Drake University: the 2017 Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor. The award with be given on Wednesday, April 26, at the 2017 Weaver Medal of Honor Lecture. The lecture is to be held in Sheslow Auditorium at 2 p.m. You can find more information about the lecture on the Drake University website, or through their article about the award.

For anyone living in the QC, it’s likely that you have heard of or have been to Main at Locust. Since its inception, this local pharmacy has worked to provide its patients and their families with the quality medicine, medical supplies, and care that they need. Before his passing in 1987, Main at Locust was run by Ploehn’s father, Bill Burke. In the aforementioned article, Ploehn said of her father, “I had the opportunity to work for my dad before he passed away. He was a great pharmacist and cared greatly for his patients. By continuing to carry his dream forward, it has allowed us to be able to help others in need.”

Since taking on a leadership role, Ploehn has been determined to carry on her father’s legacy. Their mission of providing the best service possible and the products needed by their patients is what drives everything Ploehn and her sister, Ann Cypher, do.

Along with the acclaim of this most recent award, Ploehn has several other notable accomplishments to her name. This includes having established the Bill Burke Student Professional Travel Fund Endowment, receiving the APhA-APPM Distinguished Achievement Award in Community and Ambulatory Practice, the Innovative Pharmacist of the Year Award, and having been recognized with the IPA Appreciation Award in 2005. She was also the recipient of the 2007 Bowl of Hygeia Award. Ploehn is also an advocate for volunteerism and makes yearly medical missions trips to South America.